See Our New Look

New Look - Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I learn more about our new look?

What is this new look and what is the strategy behind it?

Today we take another step forward in our journey toward building a more exceptional travel experience with the unveiling the new look of American. Inspired by our proud past and by what we make possible as a company, the new look is designed to symbolize our passion for progress and the soaring spirit that is uniquely American. But more importantly, as we continue to modernize and refresh our great airline, it will find its way into everything we do—from airports to technology to the service we provide our customers to new uniforms for many of our people.

How long will it to take to implement this new look across the airline?

Like any business with operations around the world, the process of changing our look will take time. Some digital updates – like the look of our self-service machines and AA.com – have already begun, and will conclude with final details right away. Others, like our airport signage and plane livery, will take longer, up to several years, given the size and reach of our network.

As we prepare for the first two 777-300ER aircraft to enter service in just a matter of weeks, customers will see those aircraft flying in the new livery. As we take delivery of new aircraft, update additional digital assets and begin updating our terminals, customers will start to see more and more of the new look.

Why this logo?

As one of a few truly iconic American brands, we take great care in updating our new look with great focus and respect to our name, American. Our new logo is a refreshing update to the core icon of our company – the eagle. Our new eagle -- or Flight Symbol – represents the soaring spirit and passion of our people to always move forward. Our new logo incorporates the symbols and colors people have come to associate with American Airlines – the eagle, the star, the "A," and red, white and blue – yet it is contemporary and clean.

Why these colors?

Our core brand colors remain red, white and blue -- the colors that have long represented American Airlines. As part of our new look, we have updated and refreshed the shades of blue and red we're using to reflect our more fresh, vibrant and welcoming spirit.

Why these plane exteriors?

We recognize that we are a part of a small collection of brands widely considered to be true American icons, and the look of our new plane exteriors was carefully crafted and considered by a number of our people and creative partners. Our new livery, with our new logo, stripes flying proudly on our tail and silver body -- is a bold symbol of our origin and our name.

Building upon our iconic image, the silver mica painted fuselage maintains and honors our "silver birds", while the new design of the logo and tail reflect the spirit of modern America: innovative, progressive and open to the world.

Our livery is an important component of our new identity, and a bold symbol as we continue this journey building the new American.

The tail looks much like the American flag. Was that the intent?

Yes, the stripes flying proudly on our tail are a bold symbol of our origin and our name, reflecting the spirit of modern America: innovative, progressive, and open to the world.

What does it represent?

It is inspired by our proud heritage and by what we make possible as a company. Our new logo and plane exteriors symbolize our passion for progress and the soaring spirit that is uniquely American. But more importantly, as we continue to refresh our airline, they reflect the spirit that will find its way into everything we do – from airports, to technology, to the service we provide our customers, to new uniforms for many of our people.

Why are you painting the "silver birds"?

We began our work to update our look and our airline almost two years ago when we placed the largest aircraft order in history. That decision included taking delivery, starting this year, of Airbus aircraft from the A320 family and Boeing 787-9 aircraft made of lighter, more efficient composite materials. In order to maintain a consistent and fresh look across our fleet, painting the aircraft was necessary.

We recognize that we are a part of a small collection of iconic brands, thus the decision to paint the planes was carefully considered by a number of our people and creative partners. Building upon our iconic image, the painted silver fuselage maintains and honors our "silver birds", while the new design of the logo and tail reflect the spirit of modern America: innovative, progressive and open to the world.

How does this new look set you apart from your competitors?

As one of a few truly iconic American brands, we take great care in updating our new look with great focus and respect to our name, American. Our new look reflects the spirit and passion of our people, our proud heritage, and the colors and symbols people have come to associate with American Airlines – all of which are unique to American.

By creating a bold symbol of our origin and our name combined with our multitude of other efforts to update our airline, American will be able to attract, retain and grow our customer base.

Will American Eagle also get a new look?

Yes. American Eagle is also going through a similar update and is revealing its new look in concert with American's. The first American Eagle aircraft will fly in the new livery in Feb. 2013 and we anticipate about 50 percent of the existing regional aircraft to be converted by the end of 2014. New aircraft added to the regional fleet in the future will carry the new livery as well.

What does this mean for customers?

It demonstrates our progress toward updating American and building an exceptional travel experience with our customers at the center. It supports our promise to our customers: comfort, ease and connectivity to what matters most throughout their journey.

What do your employees think of the new plane exteriors?

We, of course, hope that our people are proud of American's new look. This is the first change we've made to our look in over 40 years, so we took that responsibility very seriously. As one of the few truly iconic American brands, we took this step forward with great focus and great respect to our heritage.

Our people were involved in creating our new look. We started internally, looking carefully at our company's history and talking with them. We interviewed leaders and customers, held focus groups and online forums with our team members, and had our people review and provide input on the new look.

AAdvantage - Frequently Asked Questions

How does the new AAdvantage logo impact AAdvantage members – both regular and elite?

The new look of American and the new look of AAdvantage are a step forward in our journey to modernize our airline but has no impact on the function or benefits of the AAdvantage program.

Will the brand changes impact earn/redemption opportunities?

Earning and redeeming miles is as easy as ever. The refresh to the AAdvantage look does not have an impact on our current AAdvantage product offerings or options.

Are there any AAdvantage program changes associated with the new look? Will these changes impact elite status benefits; Million Miler status; or relationships/agreements with oneworld or codeshare partners?

Our new look does not impact our current AAdvantage product offerings or options.

Will the AAdvantage program be offering DEQM/DEQP or any type of promotion to celebrate this launch?

American Airlines has launched a sweepstakes where participants have an opportunity to win a grand prize of 1 million AAdvantage miles. To enter, participants can upload a photo illustrating a special journey to American's Facebook page; to Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #newAmerican; or directly to the promotional banner on aa.com/newamerican. One grand prize winner will receive 1 million miles and five additional winners will each receive a prize of 100,000 miles. The sweepstakes runs from Jan. 17 – Feb. 5, 2013, and is open to customers in the United States and the United Kingdom. For more information, including full terms and conditions, please visit aa.com/newamerican.